The Question of Consciousness
After studying religion for a while, I have discovered that one useful way of categorizing different varieties of religion is how they answer the question of consciousness. I am not…
What is a “Hero?”
"The man's a war-hero." Is he though? We hear men -- and sometimes women -- called "heroes" today. From soldiers to single moms, even the nobody working the nine-to-five grind…
On the Origins of Truth-Telling
In Holy Nihilism, I posited that the origins of truth-telling as a value originated in the piratical militarism of steppe-based warrior cults: The origins of true testimonialism appear to lie…
Ansuz and Anwei
A friend and an expert in the field of ancient linguistics (PIE) gives some insight on the more precise meaning of the rune "Ansuz," as understood by the Proto-Indo-European speaking…
Tolkien and Lewis’ Curious “Paganism”
Any manner of theology can now be smuggled into people's minds under cover of romance without their knowing it. - C.S. Lewis, Collected Letters, 1939 Reader and commenter "My New…
Errant Thoughts on the Lord of the Rings
I would like to make the case that J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings series is one of the most masterful works of religious rhetoric composed in the last century. As…
NEW: Holy Nihilism Published
FINALLY! Editing has been a long slog, but Holy Nihilism is now out, in eBook format as well as paperback. As I say in the introduction, my purpose in writing this is…
Bookmarking Definitions for Future Reference
The following is a short list of functional definitions revolving around a developing economics of attention. I am no expert on economics (although I do have a few friends who…
Christianity and Honor
Apologies to everyone who has been patiently waiting for the newest book. It is still undergoing some edits, which is taking longer than I expected. I am no longer comfortable…
VR Baptism and the Christian Conundrum of “Spirit”
Here's a question: is a virtual-reality baptism valid? On its face, it seems like an absurd question. Better: who would get baptized in virtual reality, and why? The answer to…